Blink
by smolder
Summary: He found her campsite the third time less than a year later in Scotland. While he was simply walking around the woods – in human form and completely conscious this time.  Connected to "One Moment At a Time"


Disclaimer: I own nothing. Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt. Harry Potter belongs to J.K Rowling.  
>AN: This is a Wishlist fic as well, it came from a prompt provided by vesselandpestle. It connects to "One Moment At a Time" (although it is not necessary for you to have read that first) so I decided to post it separate from the other prompt fics.  
>AN 2: Reviews are Good. This has been a subtle hint from the author - Please return to your regularly scheduled reading.

Oz woke up upside down in a rope trap hanging from a tree looking into large, wide silvery eyes.

It took a moment for his nudity to register, but once it did he realized right away that he must have been caught last night while in werewolf form. He tried not to panic but although he had never had any trouble with hunters looking to sell were-parts here in Tibet the memory of his trouble in Sunnydale weren't _that _far buried.

But the eyes kept staring at him; finally Oz blinked.

"Daddy," she immediately (surprisingly loud for one so small) yelled. "He's not a sarozmuppeshing!"

A head popped out of one of the tents that had the same colored hair of the girl in front of him. "Are you sure, Luna-love?"

"He blinked, Daddy," she said as if that explained everything and her father nodded seriously as if it did. Then he ducked back as if to re-enter the tent. "Daddy?" the girl – _Luna_- said again.

"Yes?" he asked his head coming back out and his eye brows furrowing.

"Maybe you should let him down now?" Luna said.

"Ah – right. Of course dear," he smiled and took out a stick – too slim and long to be a stake – and waved it around. Immediately Oz fell to the ground.

He got up rubbing his neck and the girl was still standing in front of him.

"Sorry," she said sincerely. "We did not mean to catch a werewolf. I have nothing against werewolves – my favorite teacher so far was one. But, Daddy and I have been tracking a sarozmuppeshing for a story and you know sometimes they _do_ tend to shapechange."

Oz nodded as if he knew what she was talking about before asking as naturally as he could, "Could I borrow some pants?"

The next time it happened, four years later in Russia, he felt less panicked and a bit more bemused when he awoke.

"Ah," Luna said with a slight smile as soon as she came upside down into view from around the side of a tent, "your awake then." She cut him down right away with a swish of what he assumed was her wand. "I'm terribly sorry for doing this to you again, Mr. Wolf Man. But, although I am sure you did not mean any harm, you wandered into my campsite and triggered my wards last night. I was a bit afraid if I let you go before you shifted back you might simply wander back all over again," she frowned apologetically.

"Oz," he said.

"What?" she asked.

"My name is Oz," he responded.

"Oh. Good, that works much better than Mr. Wolf Man," she smiled and fiddled around with a tea kettle and her wand. "Would you like some hot chocolate?"

"Where's your father?" he asked. She still seemed a bit young to be out on her own in the woods – even if she did have magic. Plus, the two had seemed happy and close the last time he had seen them.

Her hands paused in their movements and her expression froze for a moment before she finally said, "He's with my mother."

And although her answer was simple, something in the way she said it - the look in her eye, her pause, her overly careful phrasing – made it seem as if it meant something more.

But Oz had never been one to push so he just nodded and took the warm mug of hot chocolate and blanket she gave him.

He found her campsite the third time less than a year later in Scotland. While he was simply walking around the woods – in human form and completely clothed and conscious this time.

Oz wasn't sure if he should approach her, but before he could make that decision she looked up from carefully making a circle of rocks around her campfire to look him directly in the eye. She didn't look entirely surprised to see him and Oz wondered if he had triggered her wards already - even like this.

He went and sat next to her by the fire and they watched it crackle and snap for a few minutes. Oz noticed that although her eyes were trained on the flames her fingers were twisting a ring on her finger that hadn't been there the last time he had seen her.

"You got married?" he asked.

She startled and looked down at her hands as if seeing them for the first time. Then Luna bit her lip and gently touched her ring – a bronze, thick, not-traditionally feminine design with bizarre winged creatures carved into it. Her body seemed to curl into itself more.

After another long moment she cleared her throat and said, "He's with my parents." Before tilting her eyes sideways to meet his.

Oz didn't say anything, he just reached out and took her hand in his lacing their fingers together.

"It's alright," she whispered more to herself than to him. "I'll see them again someday."

Oz simply nodded and Luna scooted over and laid her head on his shoulder.

"I miss them," she said almost too quiet to hear, as if admitting to something.

And Oz held her while she cried.

Afterwards she pulled away from him just enough to look him in the eye and say, "It's important. Family. Friends. Pack. You shouldn't always stay away from yours."

He almost gave a start. "How did you-" But then he changed his mind, this was Luna – why was he surprised that this moon-woman that he continuously seemed to be drawn to, somehow knew? Instead he said, "I can't go back. I-,"

"-made some mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes, Oz. But they're your family. Do you want to wait until it's too late," she demanded harshly.

Oz shook his head. The thought made him sick actually – of only finding out third hand, years later that one of the Scoobies was dead.

"I'll go," he said.

"Later?" she asked looking suddenly young and vulnerable again. Duality this girl - it reminded him of another place, another person, another time.

"Later," he agreed and she relaxed against him with a grateful smile.


End file.
